


You Are My Home

by Beautiful_Darkside



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Here There be Faeries, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki is a Byronic hero, Magical Mystery Tour, Redemption, Sassmaster Loki, Slow Burn (somewhat), reader is a faerie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-15 11:28:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13612410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beautiful_Darkside/pseuds/Beautiful_Darkside
Summary: After the events of The Avengers, Loki is brought to the Avengers Tower to teach him a lesson in compassion.  Amongst them is a mysterious girl, who is a lot more than she appears at first glance.  What will it take to get her to drop her mask, and will Loki ever recover from his fall from grace?Alternatively The Avengers in Wonderland, or Loki meets a faerie.(I suck at summaries.  Will update when this has a clearer direction.)Rated M just to be safe.





	1. The Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Alright guys! First thing I’ve done in ages, also the first non-Fire Emblem fic I’ve done. I’m not quite sure what my posting schedule is going to be like, so please bear with me on that (anxiety and depression is a wonderful moodkilling combo, and I’ve got work and school on top of that so XP). I greatly appreciate any feedback I get, especially on pacing and that kind of thing, or just good old fashioned encouragement to keep me going. I'll be cross-posting things from here on out between here and Tumblr.
> 
> Now, the idea for this story actually came to me from a line from another fic about the reader musing that Loki was well enough endowed (through magic, his godly strength, and uhh...other means) to bed the great fae queens of old, but much to my displeasure it is a trope that has yet to be explored. I intend to fix that.
> 
> A small note that if I ever end up naming my characters, I will give careful thought as to what that name will be, so that you won’t be stuck with something that feels very out of place for someone who is supposed to be royalty, of a different time period, ect. (I hope this doesn’t annoy anyone. It just helps me for the sake of the story.) Additionally, I might end up using a small amount of (Tolkien) elvish in the story, but translations will be given at the bottom of the page.
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> XOXO Yoshi

“Poor motherless child,” Loki fawned over her, brushing the tears from her cherubic cheeks. _“Who could ever abandon such a child as precious as this?”_ He thought to himself. _“Fae bastards, casting out their own to live amongst mere mortals.”_ That even a princess should be subject to this made his blood boil. This was Oberon’s own daughter, for Odin’s sake! 

“Come now, little one. Dry those tears.” He lifted her chin, looking deep into her eyes, blue as sapphires. She stopped, transfixed by the striking emerald of his own, or perhaps the beauty of his ebony locks contrasted against porcelain skin. She reached her much smaller hand to cup his cheek. Even living amongst the fae, she had never seen a grown man who was so beautiful, so perfect.

He pulled her in close. “As long as I shall live, you shall always have a home, and you will always be loved. This, I promise you.”

 

 

Some days she really hated the fact that she was honor bound to a fault.

 

It wasn’t really her fault, being a faerie and all.

 

She rolled over in bed, glaring at her digital alarm clock. Again. 

4:53 am. Wonderful. Looks like she wouldn’t be getting any sleep that night. She stretched her arms above her head until she heard a satisfying “pop!”, then proceeded to work her legs in the same fashion. Might as well get some training in to work off some stress before Thor arrived to whisk her away to Asgard to retrieve his wayward brother.

She got out of bed, unperturbed in the slightest by the chilly morning air. Everyone except for Tony, Bruce, and Thor questioned how she could keep her chambers at such a temperature. Banner didn’t, as he was fully aware of what she was and her capabilities, while Tony had been the one to take her in and adopt her into their ragtag gang in the first place. Thor, like her, wasn’t as bothered by the cold as a fragile mortal body would be. At least it came in handy sometimes. She shuffled to the bathroom, donning her robe and slippers before splashing her face with warm water in an effort to become more alert before taking the time to brush out her long golden mane. She sighed, cursing softly in a long forgotten language as the knots in her errant curls snagged on the brush. Tea it was, then.

How did she get stuck in this mess in the first place? Right. She owed Thor a favor. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 

_*Flashback*_

 

After months of working with the elder prince of Asgard, she had finally mustered up the courage to ask Thor a question that had been nagging at her for eons. Being an immortal stuck amongst humans grew to be quite taxing after a few centuries, after all. Watching the vast majority of her friends live their lives, build their families, grow old together, and die left something to be desired in her.

“My Lady Lysandra!” Thor boomed, as regal as ever. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

Lys shifted nervously under his cheerful gaze, heavily burdened by the weight of what she was about to reveal. 

“I have a request of you, one that does not come lightly.” She absentmindedly toyed with the silver bracelet around her slender wrist.

He raised a great eyebrow in question. “Oh? If it is something that is within my power to grant, then I will be most happy to do so.” He motioned for her to continue.

 _“Deep breaths, Lys,”_ she reminded herself. _“You can do this.”_

“I’d like to go with you to Asgard. Once the rest have...faded with time.” She chose her words carefully.

Thor grinned, having expected something of the sort for a long time. Her magic readings were off the charts, much like his brother. There was no way she was just a simple midgardian woman.

“That’s a big decision there,” he said. “You’ve been thinking about this for a while?”

She nodded. “My father has forbade me from living amongst our own people, as it is far too dangerous for me. I grow weary of watching my companions die every few decades.” 

_Don’t cry Lys. Not now._

She paused for a moment, regaining her composure. Thor merely nodded in understanding.

“You aren’t mortal,” he said knowingly.

“No.”

“Then...what?”

She removed a portion of her glamour with a dramatic sigh. Pin straight silver hair turned to lushious golden curls, with a pair of delicately pointed ears poking through the sides. “A faerie. One of the high fey.”

He chuckled, bringing her hand to his lips for a kiss. “Nínimel. Daughter of Oberon.”

She nodded warily. “You...know of me?”

His grin widened. “Of course, princess. Your father pleaded with mine for your protection ages ago. It is the reason why most of the fae can no longer travel freely between midgard and faerie.” He let out another laugh. “You reached no higher than my waist last I saw you...like this.” He indicated her pointed ears and long golden hair. “Although...I must apologize. Your father forced us to wipe your memory of the time you spent with us, otherwise you wouldn’t leave.” “You’d have come back to Loki,” he told himself wordlessly.

She looked downwards in shame, regardless of whether or not it was justified. “I don’t use that name now. Only one person has dared to call me that in the past hundred years or so, and, well….he isn’t exactly a person to begin with.”

Thor chuckled again. “While I am unsure as to what manner of fae creatures you choose to hold court with here in the mortal world, I do wish to meet them someday. Loki too.”

The shadow of a smile crossed her face at the mention of his brother’s name, though she knew not the reason why, but Thor picked up on it, almost instinctively. While her stay in Asgard was quite short, he had treated her kindly and shown her a few tricks to convince her to come out of hiding. It had been enough to get her to temporarily remove her glamour, but she had still clung to the trickster, like a child to its mother for the remainder of her stay. 

Had she been allowed to stay, would they have fallen in love? And if brought together, was there any hope that they could start now? Thor liked to think so, but the kindhearted trickster he had once known had grown into a somber and brooding young man with a penchant for lashing out and inflicting pain upon others. Still, he had to try. If there was anyone that could bring his brother back from the brink of his suicidal thoughts and self-destructive tendencies, it was her. 

A soft niggling in the back of his mind snapped him out of his reverie. There was something he was supposed to remember, something important about dealing with the fae. Ah! There it was.

“Now Lysandra,” he started, a soft smile playing upon his lips. Well, as soft and gentle a smile a big, burly man like Thor could manage. “Lys, you know how these deals work.”

She continued her study of the marble floor tiles. “I know,” she mumbled.

Geez. Did she really loathe her kind THAT much? Yep, her and Loki were a perfect match.

“I’ll take you to Asgard with me. In fact, I can take you tomorrow.’

_Uh-oh. This was the part that wasn’t sounding good._

“But I need your help with something,” Thor continued, his smile faltering as he struggled to find the right words to explain the situation.

 _Nope. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t worth the pain or the hassle it would cause her._ She put on a fake smile and nodded for him to continue.

“I’m...rather, we’re bringing Loki back here, as part of his sentence for his crimes. If it is as he has said, and he was merely a puppet in the whole thing, then it shouldn’t prove much of a challenge.” He sighed, then stretched out to scratch something on the back of his neck sheepishly. “As per Tony’s rules, he is required to have a so called “babysitter” until he proves himself trustworthy, and I’d feel better if it were another magic user.”

_Loki? Loki was the one she had to deal with? That didn’t seem too bad. At least he could be reasoned with, unlike much of the fae._

“Is Tony in on this then?” she ventured to ask.

“Of course!” Thor replied reassuringly. “I wouldn’t be bringing him here otherwise.”

She paused for a moment before speaking, thinking of all the things that would need to be in place to make his containment - er...rehabilitation possible. And plausible. She knew she would have to go about this a certain way, both to gain his cooperation and trust, and to make sure he didn’t go stir-crazy from not being able to exercise his abilities for too long. She knew all too well what that felt like. That must be why Thor had come to her for this specific task. Because if the one who was placed in charge of him was unfamiliar with the constant ebb and flow of seider within the body of a magic user - she shuddered to think of the consequences.

“Alright, I’ll do it, but on certain terms,” she responded cautiously. Thor nodded, still wearing his ever present grin. He was a lot like a Golden Retriever, that man, all over-eager and willing to please. She would have hugged him for it, for the reassurance it could provide, if she had been a hugging person.

“I’m sure they’ll want to impose some sort of restrictions on your brother’s magic, at least outside of battle until we know he can be trusted, but it has to be something I can remove.”

“Your assumption is correct, which is why we will leave it up to Tony to construct a device rather than my father” Thor interjects, before motioning for her to continue.

She takes in a deep breath to regain her composure, unused to being involved in such large decisions. “That’s...good. Good. Loki will be expected to join me in training every day, in my special training rooms. I can have them warded so that he can’t teleport himself out or exit before I do, but he’ll have to have the barrier restricting his magic removed for at least that long every day. It is extremely important, otherwise it will keep building up and hurt him. Severely.”

Thor nodded in understanding. “I figured as much. My mother explained to me something of the sort, which is why only you can do this, little flower.”

She smiled softly at the old nickname. It was the same as her father always used endearingly. She greatly enjoyed the comfort of it, although it was something she would never admit to. Despite all he’d done, Thor still cared deeply for his brother, saw something in him that was worth saving. And for that, she would fight for it.

Noticing that she still seemed quite unsettled by things, or perhaps the nature of her own revelation, he reached out to take her hand, squeezing it gently in reassurance. “Don’t worry princess,” he spoke, blue eyes glistening. “My brother may be many things, but he has always been a perfect gentleman. Treat him with the same kindness you do everyone, take him on whatever adventures you cannot share with the likes of our fragile mortal companions, and everything will turn out just fine. I know it. I believe in you.” 

He kisses her hand again, preparing to leave. His facial hair tickled as it brushed against the back of her hand.

Upon reaching the doorway, he provides her with one last piece of advice as an afterthought. 

“Right now, my brother could really use a friend, more than anything. Become that person, and he’ll give you the world.”

 


	2. The Start of Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussions over coffee, and the retrieval of a certain trickster prince.

So that was that, then. She yawned, stretching her long limber body just a bit more before putting on some loose workout gear. She grabbed her phone and a pair of earbuds before making her way downstairs for a quick breakfast, followed by the training room.

Thor arrived somewhere around 9:00 while she was in the middle of beating up a practice robot with the variety of weapons she liked to keep on her person. _“Never leave anywhere without a few extra knives,”_ her father always told her, _“for life is a battlefield. The war within our hearts is waged with words, and everything else can be solved with a blade or magic.”_

____He waited patiently to the side for a time, due partly to the knowledge that it was reckless to approach a lady who was currently letting out her rage on the metal machine, and how mesmerizing it was watching her in the dance of battle. Perhaps Loki had taught him a few things over the years that he actually thought twice about interrupting her, or maybe it was just from being caught on the business end of Sif’s sword one too many times for doing just that._ _ _ _

____Finally, he stood up to clap in appreciation as she stopped to retrieve her throwing knives from the robot’s head and torso, and gave a great booming ‘Good morning, Lady Lysandra!’ in greeting. She gave him a tired smile before mumbling something in response._ _ _ _

____“Have you had breakfast yet?” Thor asked, mildly concerned, as they entered the elevator together._ _ _ _

____She nods in response, patting him on the shoulder. “You go get your fill of coffee and Pop Tarts, big guy. I’ll catch up with you after I shower, and then we can get on with this.”_ _ _ _

____“I like the way you think!” He laughs. “Go, I’ll save you some.”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Upon her return, she finds Thor halfway through a twelve pack of Strawberry Pop Tarts, and just starting his third cup of coffee. She grabs a pack for herself before fixing another cup of Irish breakfast tea. Tony raises an eyebrow in question. “Hitting the sugar already, sweetheart?”_ _ _ _

____She nods._ _ _ _

____“Stressful day, eh?”_ _ _ _

____“You don’t know the half of it,” she responds melodramatically._ _ _ _

____Tony grins. “Oh, believe me, sister. I’m the one letting the man who managed to level a good portion of the city in a matter of hours back under my roof.”_ _ _ _

____She brings both of her palms to her forehead in frustration, elbows still firmly planted on the counter. “You’re not the one who has the esteemed pleasure of being his keeper, I do. And in case you haven’t forgotten, everyone in this room plus Bruce has the same capacity for destruction if pushed to the edge.”_ _ _ _

____Thor rubs her shoulder reassuringly. “I trust you’ll do well, little princess. Your abilities and interests are similar enough that he won’t ignore you outright, at least.”_ _ _ _

____Tony raises an eyebrow again as he stares out at Lysandra from the rim of his coffee mug._ _ _ _

____“Thor knows,” she responds curtly._ _ _ _

____Tony blinks a few times as he waits for it to register. “So that makes me, Point Break here, and Banner.”_ _ _ _

____“Knows what?” Thor asks._ _ _ _

____“That she’s Tinkerbell,” Tony says sarcastically._ _ _ _

____“Tony!”_ _ _ _

____He does his best to look hurt, but the slight quiver in the corner of his lip tells her otherwise. He breaks into a smile when Lysandra stands up to glare at him menacingly, hands upon her hips. “Damn she’s tall,” he thinks to himself, studying the intricate detail on the black leatherwork of her light armor, layered on top of a silvery elven tunic. At 5’10”, she was one of the tallest women he’s ever met, and every bit the fae queen she looked in her armor._ _ _ _

____“Fine then. You can be Galadriel. Or Zelda, take your pick.”_ _ _ _

____Lysandra huffs in frustration. “Galadriel. Zelda is only good at getting captured.”_ _ _ _

____Tony snickers. Lysandra just rolls her eyes at him before turning to Thor._ _ _ _

____“This stays just between us and Bruce. I don’t think Cap would take it too well.”_ _ _ _

____“That’s not true, Lys. We all love you,” Tony says reassuringly._ _ _ _

____“Yes, but I have reason to believe that he would be less trusting of my kind than the rest. Maybe Clint as well.”_ _ _ _

____“What about Loki?” Thor ventures to ask._ _ _ _

____Lysandra lets out a deep sigh, knowing there’s absolutely no way she’s getting off the hook from that, especially with another overly perceptive magic user._ _ _ _

____“Let’s make this fun and see how long it takes him to figure it out,” she says through a grimace._ _ _ _

____“That does sound like fun,” Thor replies._ _ _ _

____She nods. “Yes, and I won’t show him my true form until he’s comfortable enough to show me his.”_ _ _ _

____“Kinky.”_ _ _ _

____“You’re not helping, Tony. Although, now that you mention it, that could be fun...” she trails off._ _ _ _

____“Gross!”_ _ _ _

____At this Tony gets up, finally ready to leave the room._ _ _ _

____Thor laughs to the point of tears, slapping her on the back in approval._ _ _ _

____“Please, if you manage to make it that far with my brother, by all means, I approve.”_ _ _ _

____She nods, understanding the gravity of his words before gently reaching out for his arm to lead him away. “Ready to go, big guy?”_ _ _ _

____Thor smiles before capturing capturing her in a bone crushing hug. “Of course, princess.”_ _ _ _

____Alright, the hug felt nice._ _ _ _

____She smiled back at him._ _ _ _

____“Thor?”_ _ _ _

____“Yes princess?”_ _ _ _

____“Please do not call me that in front of your brother. Or Flower, Snowdrop, or anything of the sort.”_ _ _ _

____He lets out another of his thunderous laughs. God of Thunder, indeed. He brings her hand up to kiss it, as is the norm between them._ _ _ _

____“I’ll try to remember, but no promises,” he says with a wistful sigh. “Because to the two of us, you will always be our little faerie princess. Even though you’re a...beautiful, full grown warrior princess now.”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____ _ _

____Thor leads them to the top of the tower, where he calls upon Heimdal to open the Bifrost. She holds onto him for dear life, then awkwardly removes herself once she realizes what she’s doing._ _ _ _

____“Welcome back, Prince Thor, Princess Nίnimel,” Heimdall greets them._ _ _ _

____Lysandra cringes. “Does everyone here have to call me that?” she asks with a groan._ _ _ _

____Thor and Heimdall both laugh. “I’m afraid so, princess,” Thor replies. “The only reason my father is allowing Loki to go to Midgard is because you’ll be there with me to help rein him in. He...has some issues with authority, but you are not mortal nor do you have much of a past history with him, so there’s a good chance he might actually listen.”_ _ _ _

____“He recognizes your power,” Heimdall adds. “It’s an honor, coming from him.”_ _ _ _

____She lets out a snort. “The more you tell me about him, the more your brother sounds like a cat. I can’t wait to introduce him to Soren.”_ _ _ _

____Heimdall lets out a robust laugh. “The cait sidhe? Oh yes, I’m sure that will go splendidly. Do tell me how that one goes.”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____They bid goodbye to Heimdall, promising to visit again later. Lysandra peers over the Bifrost in a childlike state of awe and wonder, taking in the sight of the stars above her and the rainbow bridge beneath their feet. It was almost too beautiful to walk on. Almost._ _ _ _

____Her reaction sent a pang of joy to Thor’s heart, hoping that one day she might be content living here, if the fates should allow._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Eventually, the pair made their way to the throne room, where Thor greets his parents and then introduces Lysandra properly, giving both her proper name and the one she’s been going by as of late. The majority of their day in Asgard is relatively uneventful - lunch with the family, excluding a certain dark and brooding prince, various court women flirting with Thor, various men AND women flirting with herself, much to her amusement. Thor had to explain to her that although Asgardians were a bit more...open in their advances, most handled rejection well, or otherwise weren’t expecting anything in the first place. He also warns her that his friend Fandral is one of the worst offenders, or perhaps the best at skirt chasing, depending on how she looked at it, but he was most definitely not her type. She was the type of woman a man should marry and settle down nicely with, a proper lady, fierce, but refined._ _ _ _

____Finally, Thor had decided that it was time to stop dancing around the subject and get her more acquainted with Loki, so that she would still have enough time to give him a quick tour of the tower and get him properly settled in for the evening._ _ _ _

____He knocked carefully upon his door, almost as if he was afraid that something might strike out and bite him if he dared tread the wrong way. Which, for all she knew might not be beneath the trickster prince._ _ _ _

____“Yes?” drolled a silky smooth voice from behind the door._ _ _ _

____“It’s me,” Thor replied. “And I’ve brought a friend. May we come in?”_ _ _ _

____The voice sighed dramatically before the door swung open, revealing the pale raven haired god. “If you must, although…” his eyes quickly glance over the two of them, only to land curiously on the princess clad in elven raiments. He smirked before motioning for the pair to enter, then shut the door with a satisfying ‘click’._ _ _ _

____“Well well well, what have we here? I was expecting one of your pathetic mortal friends, but this is a pleasant surprise. Instead you’ve brought a lady who is...positively humming with magical energy.” He pronounced the ‘p’ with a sharp pop for emphasis, stroking his chin as he took in this new information before turning to her again._ _ _ _

____“My lady, I do not believe we have been introduced properly. I am Loki Laufeyson, prince of Asgard.” He gently took her hand, brushing her knuckles with a gentle kiss, causing her to blush slightly. He grinned, having felt the full force of her power from their brief moment of contact, as all magic wielders did. “Oh, you’re a strong one. I like it!”_ _ _ _

____Thor smiles, not having expected his brother to have reacted so pleasantly._ _ _ _

____“What? Am I no longer allowed to admire a beautiful, powerful woman?” Loki remarked petulantly. Lysandra’s blush grew even deeper at his blatant flattery._ _ _ _

____Thor chuckled. “No, it’s quite alright, although I would mind yourself around that one. She is to be your guardian when we return to Midgard, and packs quite the punch.”_ _ _ _

____She smiles back at Loki bashfully, trying (and failing, badly) to avoid his emerald gaze. She can’t help but admire his visage, his lean, muscular body and sharp jaw making him so much more appealing than the hulking brutes she had come to associate with the realm. He was nothing like she had expected, all predatory and hopelessly romantic, rolled into one. A real charmer. Though Thor had assured her that in essence, his brother was a gentleman to his very core, she briefly wondered if that behavior extended to the bedroom, before quickly cursing herself for the thought. Finally, she decides that her best option was to drop to a curtsey and greet him properly, before either one of them caught her oogling him._ _ _ _

____“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, my prince,” she said nervously, immediately looking to Thor to see if she said the right thing. Thor nods in approval._ _ _ _

____“She’s well versed both in magic and with a blade, and should be the most adept at helping you blend better into all the niceties of the mortal world,” Thor says by a means of explanation._ _ _ _

____“And what if I don’t want to blend?” Loki grouched, crossing his arms._ _ _ _

____“That’s okay,” Lysandra says, her palms raised in a calming manner. “You don’t have to like them, you just have to tolerate them.”_ _ _ _

____Loki’s jaw unclenches. “And you have a great deal of experience in this, I suppose?”_ _ _ _

____“I’ve had both the pleasure and misfortune of living amongst them for centuries. Behave yourself and I might show you the magical underground of New York.”_ _ _ _

____He inclined his head in understanding, a smile playing upon his lips. “I see. Well darling, I believe that you and I will become great friends.”_ _ _ _

____“Just so long as you don’t drag her into your schemes, Brother,” Thor chides him gently._ _ _ _

____Loki shoots him a look of mock offence. “Who, me? Never.”_ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovelies! Glad to see you again! I hope you're enjoying everything so far. 
> 
> Please comment and let me know how things are going so far. I'm sorry that intros seem to drag on so much, but we'll finally start getting into the good stuff into the next chapter or two.
> 
> Might do a soulmates oneshot in a bit. Thoughts?


	3. A Fresh Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly domestic fluff and world building. I promise it'll get more interesting as we go along, but I'm hoping it's at least not boring?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay guys. Infinity War did a number on me, as I’m sure you all have experienced, but here’s an extra long chapter to make up for it! Mostly domestic fluff at this point.
> 
> Reposted from my Tumblr

Shortly after, the group says their goodbyes and return to the tower, only after Frigga admonishes both her boys to be good and look after their lady friend. Thor blushes while Loki mumbles something unintelligible under his breath, which, judging by her laughter Lysandra probably picked up with her fey hearing.

Lys leads Loki to a room he is informed is his, and is to receive a more complete tour of the amenities the tower has to offer after dinner. The room is sparsely decorated with black furniture with gold accents, the bedclothes a deep emerald hue.

“I did what I could here, with what Thor told me about you, but we can work on it a little more later,” Lysandra told him nervously. She had managed alright when Thor was with them, but now that she was alone in his bedroom with him...that was another story completely. Loki studied his new surroundings without saying much other than the occasional ‘okay’ or ‘good’, but his eyes seemed to light up when she pointed out the small bookshelf near the bed. He immediately wrapped her in a tight hug, which was strong, but not nearly as bone crushing as those of his brother. This was something she could get used to, or even come to enjoy.

“Thank...thank you,” Loki responded somewhat nervously, casually leaning back on his heels. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be so considerate when I was brought here.”

She nodded understandingly. “I’ll show you the library later, but for now I figured I’d put a few of my favorites in here for you.” She stood there watching him thumb through the titles on the shelf, a small smile lighting up her face at the joy she’d given him. Pure, unbridled, child-like joy. _The Hobbit. The Lord of the Rings. Heart of Darkness. Flowers for Algernon. Till We Have Faces. Frankenstein. Crime and Punishment._ A handful of books of poetry from the likes of Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Emily Dickinson. Mostly classics, but a handful of modern authors such as Neil Gaiman and Matt Haig as well. She had carefully hand-crafted her selection based on what was the most interesting and what would convey the most humanity to the god as well. She almost couldn’t believe it, that this man who was supposed to be the “monster” that terrorized New York had such a weakness for a good book. It was sickeningly cute. 

She got up to leave for a shower and allow Loki to become more acclimated to his new abode. “If you need anything, I’m right next door, and Thor is just across from us. It’s just the three of us on this floor, and there’s a small kitchen that I’ll show you later.” Loki almost looked pained to see her leaving so soon, though his pride would never allow him to admit it. It was rare that he made friends with anyone, and one that actually got along well with his brother even more scarce. “I’ll be back later, I promise,” she assured him, reading his emotions perfectly. Loki merely nodded. “Rest well,” he bade her, wanting to say more but uncharacteristically unable to find his words.

 

As soon as the door clicked shut, Thor waved her over from the lounge area across the hall. She quickly made her way over to plop herself down on the plush orange couch across from him, casually resting her feet on the coffee table. The God of Thunder smiled over at her as she let out a contented sigh. 

“Thorrr,” she whined. “What did you need me for? I’m all sweaty and gross still.” She sat up slightly to address him a little more properly. He offered her the bag of corn chips he was currently munching on, which she politely declined. Seeing the crumbs and bits of guacamole stuck in his beard was enough to keep her from getting mad at him for finishing nearly half of the large bowl she had made already.

“I just wanted to make sure that my little brother was adjusting properly,” He replied between a mouthful of chips. “And that he wasn’t upsetting you. I know he can be…” he scratched his beard in thought as he searched for the appropriate Midgardian term. “A bit of an ass, as Tony would say, but once you’ve earned his respect he’s a lot more likable. Fun, even.”

Lys nodded in understanding. “He was fine. A little withdrawn, but I was too when Tony first brought me on the team as something more than just his own personal healer.”

Thor smiled gently at the memory. “Ah, yes, I remember. I was rather shocked to see you again after all this time, but pleased. And yet, I feel we’ve still got a lot of catching up to do. Just the three of us.”

Lysandra let out a heavy sigh at the idea. Digging up the past was emotionally exhausting, especially when it meant either coming to terms with her fey heritage, or the memory of all the mortal lives that had gone by while she remained yet unchanged. She reluctantly pulled herself up off of the overstuffed sofa, but paused on her way out to pose one more question.

“I’ve been given an awful lot of warnings about your brother’s behavior, but he’s been on nothing but his best behavior ever since I’ve met him. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to believe about him. Is this normal, or…?”

Thor chuckled. “Ah, yes, my brother can be quite the mystery, especially with the women he fancies. He is renown for his mischievous ways, but the vast majority of the time it is all in the name of a good joke. He is not an inherently cruel person, unless he is pushed to be so.” He strokes his beard wistfully, lost in the memories for a moment. “As he once told me, ‘He will treat you as a gentleman ought to, until you ask him not to.”

Lysandra snorted. “Sounds like quite the character. I bet once they get over sniping over each other like children, him and Tony will be great friends.” Thor lets out a great boom of laughter in agreement. “Indeed. Go on, shower up, though I can assure you that you smell perfectly fine,” he chides her. He was so the overly protective but goofy older brother she never knew she wanted. 

“Stinky Asgardian warrior.” She sticks out her tongue at him.

“Prissy fae princess.” Thor laughs.

 

Dinner was to be just a quiet affair between Lysandra and the two Asgardians. After finishing with her shower, Lysandra took control of the kitchen and began cooking up a storm. She wanted to ensure that Loki’s first real taste of Midgardian cuisine was at least decent, and not whatever takeout Tony usually settled on. It had to be a good old fashioned home cooked meal, so she settled for a basic pasta dish with both a red and pesto sauce, sausage and meatballs, and salad and bread on the side. As usual, Thor made a pest of himself, wanting to sample everything while she was still preparing things rather than helping.

“Come on Lysandra!” Thor begged. “Can’t I have just a little taste?”

She swatted his hand away with the spoon she was currently using to stir the sauce. “You’ve done more than that already, your chin has parmesan and tomato sauce on it.” Thor gave her his best puppy dog look. “Don’t give me that look. Now go fetch your brother for dinner while I get this stuff on the table.”

Thor grumbled about it but did as he was told, returning relatively quickly with a Loki who was having some difficulty trying to walk and read at the same time. You would think that after a thousand years he would have either gotten better at it or learned not to do so in unfamiliar places, but no. At least he was virtually indestructible, the walls and countertops he had bumped into doing little to phase him from the pursuit of good reading material. Lysandra busied herself pouring everyone a bit of elven wine as she waited for the two semi-grumpy gods to sit. Thankfully she didn’t have to tell Loki to separate himself from his book, as he perked up a bit at the familiar scent and decided she was worth keeping an eye on. 

Lys gave Thor a nod to tell him that he could finally dig in to the food. Loki rolled his eyes at his brother’s all too familiar antics as he helped himself to some bread and salad. “Thor you oaf, there’s a thing here called _salad_ that you’re supposed to eat first. Or at least I imagine the order of the courses has not changed just because we’re on Midgard.” Thor immediately muttered something about salad being more for prissy elves under his breath, but accepted the bowl Loki prepared for him. Lysandra merely glared at him for the comment.

“So, what do you think?” Lysandra asked Loki as he reached for his third serving of spaghetti and proceeded to drown it in the meaty red sauce. She couldn’t help the blush that crept onto her face as she watched him lick a spot rather languidly from his thumb. Loki grinned. “Surprisingly good, for midgardian fare. Although I’m sure your not being mortal has something to do with it. How do you even manage to acquire elven wine in a place like this?”

She gave him an even cheekier grin in response. “I have my sources.” 

Loki raised an eyebrow in question, silently begging her to go on.

Lysandra blushes. “New York has a thriving magical community, if you know where to look. There’s a lot of half-breeds and a good quarter of the population is probably more mortal than not, but I know a few people who can get me what I need.” 

Loki perks up with interest.

“I’d love to show you around sometime, since your brother isn’t nearly as interested in old tomes and rare herbs with magical properties as I am…”

“Hey!” Thor sputters indignantly before taking a moment to mull around what was actually said.

“It’s true, brother,” Loki reminds him. Thor shrugs nonchalantly in response.

...”But you have to prove to Tony that you can be let out of the tower with a chaperone and expected to behave first. Sound fair?”

Loki hums in thought for a moment, then nods in approval. “So it’s a date then?” he asks with a cheeky grin.

“What? No, of course not!” Lysandra sputters in surprise. 

“Still sounds like a date to me,” Thor points out, awkwardly attempting to show Loki how to do a fist bump. _“No, brother, like this. It’s not meant to inflict pain, like a high five.”_

“You’re not helping, Thor!”

Loki laughs at the absurdness of it all.

 

Afterwards, the pair resumed their tour. First they went to the training room, where Lysandra explained what their typical schedule would look like while she was working with him. Loki was pleased to find that Lysandra was well versed enough in magic to understand his capabilities and limits, just as Frigga had reassured him. But what intrigued him most was the special locked room just for magic training.

“Once I get a feel for your style, we’re going to do most of our drills in here,” Lysandra informed him upon unlocking the door. The room gave off a weird vibe as he stepped into it. It wasn’t negative, though he could tell that everything in the room was heavily warded, including the training robots. 

“What’s with all the protection?” Loki asked her curiously. 

“The wards protect everything in here from being destroyed by magic, otherwise Tony would kill me for the amount of paint alone that would have to be replaced,” she responded with a chuckle. “The robots have sensors on them that indicate the amount of damage they’ve taken, and keeps track of the number of lethal hits.” Loki regarded the large metal men with an air of curiosity. Out of all the Avengers, Tony was the one he found the most impressive; well, for a mortal at least. 

“This room has also been warded against teleportation, and the door won’t open for you until I’ve put your magic limiting cuffs back on,” she explained with a grin. “Ah, so that’s how it works,” Loki replied, turning one of the thin gold bands that now surrounded his wrists. “Well, I suppose it could be worse. At least I’m not stuck with a complete imbecile for an instructor whose lack of magical knowledge will land me in the medical ward, and these are at least somewhat...fashionable? I suppose I have you to thank for that as well?”

She nodded, her grin widening in response. “I figured you’d be less...hostile about your captivity if we tailored things more to your liking.” He smiled back at her, a relatively easy thing for him to do, as she was surprisingly pleasant company for a friend of his brother. 

He nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a gilded cage, but still a cage, nonetheless. Still, I’m grateful that at least someone is looking out for me, aside from my oaf of a brother.” He gave her a quick affectionate peck on the cheek. Lys blushes profusely, completely unused to that sort of contact. Loki grinned even wider at her reaction. Her innocence was absolutely endearing to him. 

 

After seeing the rest of the training rooms, the two of them somehow found themselves in Lysandra’s chambers. They had agreed that Loki had more than enough reading material at the moment (although somehow the god had already gotten through the Hobbit), not to mention the fact that Lysandra’s private collection of magical texts was a lot more intriguing. Plus she had promised him dessert and tea. _“A woman after my own heart”_ Loki mused. 

The god busied himself sifting through her older tomes as Lysandra was off procuring said sweets from the kitchen. She popped back in with a tray of tiramisu, chocolate covered madeleines, and two steaming mugs of English breakfast tea, prepared with just the right amount of cream and sugar. Loki carefully removed a handful of older, fragile looking magical texts and went to join her on the couch.

“Set those down on the table for now,” Lysandra instructed him. “They’re probably older than the both of us put together AND Thor.”

He let out a good natured laugh. “I can assure you that your books are in good hands. My brother, on the other hand...”

“Just shut up and taste this already,” she says, thrusting him a plate of cake and a fork. 

Loki studied the spongey layered cake for a moment and took a dainty bite, then quickly demolished it.

“That good, eh?”

Loki nodded, setting his plate down to pick up his tea. “We have all manners of cakes and pastries and whatnot back home, but nothing like this,” he said indicating a few stray flakes of chocolate.

“Ah, chocolate. I see you’re a fan,” she replied with a devilish grin. Her plan of buttering Loki up by plying him with sweets and books was going splendidly. 

Loki nods, too busy eating for a proper response. They fall into a comfortable silence for a bit, until he remembers the dusty tomes that had been calling to him like a siren’s song. He wipes his fingers clean and magiks the plates clean and away before gingerly picking up the one at the top of the stack and cracked it open. He skimmed through it for a few minutes before reaching for the next, where halfway through he made a startling discovery. After finding something to save his place, he goes through the rest of the stack with mostly the same result.

“These...these books are all in various forms of elvish,” Loki said in awestruck wonder. “Most of them, at least. And this one…” he waved around an ancient looking green text with silver leaf pages before cracking it open for a closer look. “...This one is in some old fae tongue even I cannot decipher. Yet.” 

“That one is supposed to be locked away with the rest - crap!” Lysandra mutters, reaching for that last one. 

Loki quirks an eyebrow, smirking at her. “I take it you can read it then?”

She huffs in frustration at being caught. “It’s in my library, isn’t it?”

Loki’s grin widens. She waves her hand again, and he gives in and returns the mysterious book to her. “Well?” 

She rolls her eyes at him. “This one’s more of a collection of poetry and epics, which is why I had it out.”

“But you can read it, as well as the ones in elvish?”

“Yes? Should I be concerned that you can apparently read them as well?”

Loki laughs at this. “You’re quite interesting, for one of my brother’s friends. I like that!” 

She shot him a look of exasperation. 

“I am a prince, I learned from the best,” he says with a shrug, as a means of explanation. “Plus Allspeak can generally fill in most of the gaps, aside from some of the most ancient languages.” He leans back, stretching out to his full height while mentally taking note to take full advantage of the sort of magical sanctuary he had found her sitting room to be. Much more welcoming than any other place in the tower he’d found, so far. Much more like home, and the company wasn’t half bad either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do hope this was worth the wait. I’d love to hear from you all, even if you just want to talk about the latest ACOTAR book or bitch about how hot it is right now (living in SoCal is seriously not fun right now guys). Or let me know what you think is working/not working, as I'm still questioning myself as to how well I'm doing at this whole writing thing. Really guys, I'm an engineering major, I'm probably one of the rare ones that's at least semi-competent at this just from the sheer amount of reading I've done over the years. 
> 
> Also, I’m (attempting to) starting on some sort of Soulmate AU, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
> 
> XOXO Yoshi


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is mostly from Loki's point of view. Keeping it interesting.

The days quickly fell into a somewhat normal routine. Wake up. Light breakfast. Quick warm-up, then weapons practice with the Lady Lysandra. Lunch. A brief nap, or some quiet time to read in peace, whichever the day called for. Seider practice, with Lysandra again. Dinner was usually just him, Lys, and his brother, although at least once a week they made a point to sit down together as a team. 

Once dinner was over, sometimes he discussed books with Lys, both magical texts and fictional works, and sometimes they just sat and watched shows on the big glowing screen the mortals referred to as a ‘television’. So far his favorite show was the one about a sarcastic, ornery doctor with a limp, who liked solving puzzles. 

Loki took much joy in solving life’s mysteries as well. Mostly he was adjusting well to the Midgardian way of life, although there were a few minor hiccups along the way, like the time when he dumped a whole bottle of Dawn into the dishwasher and the entire kitchen became a magical wonderland of soapy bubbles and inconspicuous tripping hazards, the infamous microwave incident, for which there were tally marks on the wall for how many times both he and his brother had caused the small appliance to explode (Thor was at three to Loki’s one), or his general disregard of normal clothing in favor of expensive designer suits or whatever he brought with him from Asgard. Most of the time they allowed him this small comfort of home; as long as he wasn’t wandering the streets looking like he belonged in a renaissance faire, the team tended not to question it.

After a month or so of Loki gradually settling in amongst Midgard’s Greatest Heroes, he was surprised to find that it was the Man of Iron, of all people, who was the first to warm up to him. It all started when Stark had asked him to give him a hand in the lab with something or other on one of the days where Lys was out taking care of business elsewhere, much too busy to babysit the wayward god. Much to his surprise, Loki was actually pretty useful to have around, or at least when he was given enough mental stimulation to not lose interest and resort to what Thor referred to as “Small Mischiefs” around the tower. When that happened, Loki generally got to everyone but Bruce, Nat, and Lysandra. Bruce, because the god was still (mildly) fearful of the green rage monster, after his previous trip to Midgard, but mostly they got along and just gave one another a large berthe. Natasha he had formed some strange sort of truce with based almost entirely on respect, and the knowledge that she would totally kick his ass if he set so much as his pinky toe in her room. And Lysandra...Lys was a different story altogether. It could have been the fact that his mother had brought him up to be more respectful to women than that, the fact that he knew very well that he wasn’t the only seider wielder in the tower and a fight between the two of them could end badly, or perhaps it was because he was slowly developing...feelings for her, perhaps? Or was it just the sort of caring that came from being friends? He couldn’t say.

It was some time shortly after this that Stark had agreed that Loki had earned his first supervised trip out of the tower. Lys had received a note on a rolled up piece of parchment, delivered by a cat, of all things. It was a large black cat with a single white splotch on its chest, tenderly dubbed “Smudge”. He wasn’t quite sure how the cat had gotten into the tower in the first place, with both Jarvis and the massive elevator system clearly being obstacles for the portly feline, but he merely looked on as Lysandra gave him a good sized hunk of cooked chicken breast from the refrigerator, then deftly penned a new note for him in some odd dialect of the fae tongue and sent him on his way. And then the cat just up and disappeared. Just. Like. That!

Loki’s mouth hung open in shock. Even in Asgard, which was a much more magical realm than most of Midgard ever had been even centuries ago, they did not have cats that could do that. Or any mundane ground-dwelling beast that had some underlying seider abilities, especially one that was typically seen as a common housepet.

“Umm...Lysandra? What just happened?” Loki finally managed to sputter out. “I know the people of Midgard used to rely on birds as a method of relaying messages, but a magical disappearing cat?”

Lysandra looked up after scanning the note once more. “The fae still rely on cats, much like the goddess Freya, yes?”

“Well yes but...are there really still traces of the fae here? I thought my fa….Odin and King Oberon agreed to lock them up in Faerie, in the Nevernever centuries ago.”

“As I’ve told you before, there is a thriving underground magical community, but most of them are probably half breeds or cast-offs at best nowadays. The pathways were closed long ago, so the bloodlines got pretty diluted, you know?”

Loki nodded, stroking his chin absentmindedly as he pondered a thought. Norns, how he wished he was still at his full strength so that he could dive head first into this mystery, but he was wise enough to know that the fae were fickle creatures at best, and on his own he would get nowhere. Or worse, in a world of pain. Trouble he could handle, hell it was something he took great joy in instigating. He was practically the god of it, for Odin’s sake! But the fae were a dangerous lot, even for the silver tongued liesmith himself.

Lys gave him a small smile, seemingly reading his mind. “I know you’re just itching to get out of here. Come on, Tony already gave the OK for you to come with me today while I run a few errands.”

He looked taken aback for a moment, but this was soon overtaken by glee once he overcame the initial shock. Not quite the typical malicious glee that most probably (mistakenly) associated with him, but more akin to that of a housecat finally being released into the yard to terrorize the local wildlife, or a dog stealing a cheeseburger from an unsuspecting hand and devouring it in one bite. Loki was a creature of chaos, and thusly had to exercise that muscle every so often, for the good of everyone else in the tower.

 

She led him through the bustling streets, pausing momentarily to wave at the spider-kid Tony had recently “adopted”. Loki had trouble keeping up between the unfamiliar miasma that came with such an overcrowded city and even stranger architecture, but was more than pleased when Lys finally relented and grabbed his hand as to not get separated from him. While he wasn’t pleased to have been forced into more “plebeian” midgardian attire - dark jeans and a t-shirt that would have been much more suited to Stark’s closet, at least the sunglasses and leather jacket weren’t half bad. The infernal device around his wrist, however….

Eventually the pair reached a darker corner of the city that gave off an eerie aura. Well, eerie to any non-magic user, but it was really just one huge confusion spell meant to keep the mortals from sticking their noses into places they didn’t belong. Lysandra produced a bag of piskie dust from somewhere in her bag, which she used to draw a series of runes on the wall to open the dimensional gate. Upon finishing, she wiped the excess dust off on her jeans, then touched the amethyst stone on her ring to the center of the circle created by the glowing fae script. The doorway suddenly lit up, etched in a pure white light.

“This way,” she instructed, reaching out to take his hand to cement their connection as was necessary with a non-magical companion, but she drew it back when she remembered who she was with. Loki grabbed hold of it anyways. “I take no offense,” he said with his signature smirk.

 

Loki’s eyes immediately widened once they were on the other side. For starters, the space the underground market occupied was huge, and although he had somewhat anticipated that, it was still a bit of a shock once he actually saw it. It was much like the outdoor markets on Asgard, except the patrons were decidedly less humanoid in appearance, and magic was everywhere. Girls with green skin and leaves in their hair sold tonics, salves, and herbs with magical properties. Dwarves boasted about the strength and durability of their wares, and haggled for precious elvish silver. Piskies flitted about, chattering noisily in the ears of anyone who would listen, much like mosquitos. 

“Hurry up, slowpoke!” Lys bade him with a laugh. “We’ll have time to shop later, I have to meet up with a friend first, and I can’t just leave you here unattended.”

Loki huffed in annoyance. “I’m not a child. I’m over a thousand years old, I’ll have you know.”

“Yes, yes, you’re older than me by two centuries or so,” Lys remarked. “But, as a rule, I trust most of the fae here less than you, and that’s saying something, Mister God-of-Lies.”

Loki wore a broad grin on his face as they traipsed the rest of the way to the stall she was looking for. He was slightly confused as to why so many of them bowed or curtsied as they passed by - sure he was a prince and all, but of a completely different realm, and there were few who knew of his presence or status even in these parts. He’d have to ask Lys about it later, or perhaps her friend, as he didn’t think she’d give him a straight answer on the matter. She was rather secretive of her past, although she had let down enough of her glamour to reveal a pair of perfectly pointed ears and sharper facial features.

 

“Are we being followed?,” he asked Lys at one point.

Lysandra merely shrugged at the thought. “Nah, if anything it’s just the piskies. If they get too close to your hair, just swat them away.”

Loki nodded mutely. 

“We are the two most powerful magical beings this side of the divide. Trust me, no one’s gonna be stupid enough to mess with us, unless they have a death wish. We literally radiate power - the fae can sense that.”

 

While he had assumed it would be a stall they were looking for, much like the other vendors, of course her mysterious contact would have enough wealth to have an actual building to conduct whatever sort of business happened in New York’s underbelly. 

The bell on the door jingled when she opened it, alerting its occupants to their arrival. Lys gave an approving nod to Smudge, who had taken his place on a shelf that gave him a good vantage point to guard the door. Loki quickly noted that there were nearly a dozen other cats in various shapes and colors lounging in different corners of the room - no surface was off limits. And, what’s more, a good bit of the furniture seemed almost child sized, perhaps to suit the differing size in fae clientele? 

“Hey Soren! I hope you don’t mind that I brought a friend along this time,” Lysandra called out by means of greeting.

A massive stack of books walked towards them. Well, in comparison to the one who was carrying them, at least.

“You bring that overly muscular prince again?” it spoke. “You’re responsible for whatever he breaks.”

Loki laughed. “That does sound like Thor.”

Soren set his stack down on a low lying coffee table to get a better look at the new visitor, wiping off his monocle with one paw before replacing it over one eye. While he most closely resembled a Maine Coon, he stood a little over three feet tall on two legs, and wore a pair of leather boots and a bowtie in addition to the eyepiece. His long twisted whiskers and thick coat made him look old and wise, although his age was a guess as with most of the fae.

Loki squinted to make sure he was seeing everything correctly, before turning to Lysandra, gaping like a fish. Surely cats could not walk and talk, unless…

Soren chuckled. “I’m a cait sith, my dear boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting to get the hang of this a little more, but I can't pin myself down to any sort of consistent schedule for the life of me. Ah well. Maybe get after me if it's been more than a few weeks?
> 
> Also let me know if things get a little confusing, like you don't recognize a particular creature and want to know where the lore comes from, or if I'm just pulling from Tolkien again. As I've mentioned before, I read a lot of fantasy - Sarah J Maas, Patrick Rothfuss, Neil Gaiman, CS Lewis, Tolkien, Cinda Williams Chima, ect. I've found Matt Haig's book The Humans to be a brilliant model for how a non-human entity has to adapt to living in our world, if you're ever in need of a reference.

**Author's Note:**

> Ta-da!
> 
> Now, I'm already about 600 words into the second chapter. Hopefully it'll be ready to post by sometime on Monday, at least that's my goal for now. 
> 
> Please comment, even if it's just to chat with me about how much you love the Throne of Glass series or something of the like. It helps me to actually stay on task and not lose interest.
> 
> Nínimel - (Sindarin) Snow drop


End file.
